War for the Planet of the Apes gives its trilogy the ending it deserves

Hail Caesar!

n 2011, when Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes dropped, it was more of a sci-fi curiosity than anything. A medium-sized, impressive homage to one of the better known weird-fiction movies. The reviews were good to fine. People liked it. It came and went.

Fast forward to 2017, and after an epic, beautiful sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, this time helmed by Matt Reeves, the prequel trilogy has quickly morphed into one of the best, most expertly crafted sci-fi stories in modern film.

Despite the framing of both Dawn and the newWar for the Planet of the Apes as grounded, serious thrillers, these are still sci-fi movies, make no mistake. The opening sequence to War, in which a group of human soldiers find and attempt to destroy an ape stronghold in the woods, is magnificent and otherworldly; we’re with the boots-on-the ground soldiers, coming up against these mythical, alien beings. For the first time, it really does feel like it’s taking place on another planet. Gunfire and… spear-fire are exchanged in what feels like a Star Wars sequence more than one from a terrestrial battlefield film.

Make no mistake, though, this is a war movie. Its beats are similar to Dawn‘s, but with a much more compelling villain in The Colonel (Woody Harrelson). His motivations are clear and brutal from the outset: He’s been driven half-mad by the death of his son and the decimation of the human race. In a void of accountability, it’s the apes who he holds responsible. His singular mission to destroy Caesar in the early stages sees an incredible botch, which I won’t ruin here, but forces Caesar to seek revenge at the cost of leaving his tribe.

This “trilogy” is Caesar’s story, and he gets a fitting ending here. Still, those clamoring for an Andy Serkis Oscar nod may be disappointed this time around. Caesar’s nuance and internal conflict is lesser than in the previous two installments, his biggest moments often come in well-acted but one-note martyrdom, once he does find the Colonel and discovers his tribe, who he left to find a new home, were swiftly captured, and are now imprisoned.

The quieter scenes between Caesar and the Colonel are nothing short of magnificent. The two are caught in their own personal vendettas, perhaps at the cost of their own people. Rarely has a Hollywood blockbuster been this serious, thoughtful, or bold about telling a morality story. This is a bleak parable wrapped up in an action movie and incredible special effects.

A bright spot in all the doom and gloom comes in franchise newcomer Bad Ape (Steve Zahn), who settled on his own name after being called that at the zoo he previously inhabited. Bad Ape is the first ape we’ve met who hasn’t been a part of Caesar’s uprising. He’s amiable, excitable, goofy, and caught between two worlds he isn’t quite a part of. Long sections of War take place in silence or sign language, (another ballsy choice for such a big movie), and Bad Ape understands English, but not sign language. If there’s a connecting thread throughout the three Apes movies, it’s in the tragedy of poor communication; impossible translations. The idea that, long ago, things could have been so much different, so much better, for everyone.

And so, while this particular Apes story comes to a close, we are almost certainly not done yet. The movie ends with an eye to the future, and now that the Caesar story has been told, there are still infinite options to explore. With three fantastic films under its belt, perhaps the franchise might have the confidence to turn a bit more towards its pulpy, hard sci-fi roots. Those looking for Easter eggs about the series’ future will experience a few pleasant surprises here, but we’re still a long way from gorillas in helmets or chimps in robes. There’s a whole world just being born out there. We’ve only seen the very start, and what a journey it was.